How to avoid ‘workslop’

I’m putting in an early bid for Merriam-Webster’s 2025 Word of The Year: ‘Workslop’.

Coined in a recent Harvard Business Review article, it’s defined as ‘AI generated work content that masquerades as good work, but lacks the substance to meaningfully advance a given task.’

Workslop creates a world of pain for coworkers left trying to figure out what the hell to do with this steaming pile of piffle.

It’s the AI equivalent of a colleague dumping an urgent report on your desk at 4.59pm on a Friday, before skipping out the door, middle finger raised: ‘Your problem now, sucker!’

Workslop is a dangerous reputation-slayer.

In a survey referenced in the article, 50% of respondents said they viewed colleagues who sent workslop as ‘less creative, capable and reliable’.

42% saw them as ‘less trustworthy’, and 37% deemed them ‘less intelligent’.

Blimey.

Now that Microsoft Co-Pilot and other AI tools are being rolled out across many organisations, we’re only seeing a fraction of what will soon become a tsunami of workslop flooding our inboxes, feeds and work platforms.

Emails that sound ok at first glance, but you have no idea what to do with them.

Reports that seem impressive, yet somehow don’t deliver any useful insights.

Blogs that appear convincing, yet provide zero original ideas.

Lots of activity, but very little real action.

So, if you’re already using AI, try these 3 tips to avoid creating workslop yourself:

1. Use AI as editor, not author. Write your first drafts, however rubbish you might think they are, to keep control of your voice and your views.

2. Double down on critical thinking – ask more questions. Look for bias. Challenge everything.

3. Use AI as your fiercest critic – get it to assume different roles (e.g. your client or your manager) and critique your work: ‘What’s the weakest point in this argument?’; ‘List out all your objections’; ‘What’s your cynical response to this report?’

   
   

So I’d love to know – have you received workslop? And what was your reaction?